Ben Cousins Jailed

[flyboy77]

Part of the difficulty is that the person with the addiction/issues needs to want to be cured more than to give up their current life.  There are many people who have a high likelihood of spending some time in accommodation courtesy of the Queen.  They know the outcome and really hate the idea of gaol.  They have many opportunities to enter rehab facilities, attend counselling etc. that aren't taken up - why?  They're not ready to give up the lifestyle that they lead, for some reason.  You can only give them so many opportunities...

How old are you Dodge?

These people are addicts? Don't you get that ffs?

Do you grasp what an addiction is?

f'n unbelievable.

[Inboltswetrust]

Not the first person to have their life ruined by ice....

I don't think his missus is helping either.  Stopping Ben from seeing his kids is probably driving him to take ice.  It is an enabler.

[PaulP]

I don't think his missus is helping either.  Stopping Ben from seeing his kids is probably driving him to take ice.  It is an enabler.

His kids' safety is paramount and must come first. I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near him if I was his missus. He's on the public record as exhibiting threatening, possibly violent behaviour. Who knows what sort of company he keeps, how he behaves when he's on the gear etc. ?

He may well be an addict, but he needs to clean himself up and prove that he's on the mend before he gets to spend time with them - his behaviour has been problematic and unchanging for too long. He's had scrapes with the law for years - and still no improvement.

[Baggers]

Look, there is a huge slippery slope we can open up here.

A serial killer probably has a few things wrong with his brain too. Doesn't mean i have any sympathy for him though.

It's not about sympathy but rather understanding and compassion, for all involved. You can have compassion for an offender but that doesn't mean tolerance. Believe me, I have no 'sympathy' for offenders. I'd probably go much harder than the courts on offenders, i.e. plenty of jail time - the community must be protected from iced-up people, they're a serious danger to everyone around them. I just wish our prisons & jails weren't revolving doors.

[cookie2]

The safety of the innocent, non-offending members of society is paramount and should be safeguarded as the first priority. How offenders are dealt with and possibly rehabilitated comes next on the list. If some people persistently offend and are a threat to the safety of others then they should be off the streets or very closely monitored, depending on the degree of danger they pose.

[LP]

I agree with rehabilitation as a preferred path, as long as it is not delivered at the sacrifice of the the safety of innocents!

Luke Batty should be at the forefront of considerations for anybody contemplating such a decision!

[cookie2]

Rehabilitation, whilst desirable,  must not compromise the safety of others in society.

[dodge]

Hi Fly

Old enough to see second hand (luckily for me, not first hand) the effects several times.  I worded that badly, but I do get it.  It is so complicated.  It doesn't choose - white, brown, black, poor, rich, educated, uneducated, male, female, old, young, white collar, blue collar, no collar and so on.

The mental health and justice systems do not work well enough together as a whole to help - again as everyone says, it is extremely complicated.

Our experiences are all different - it seems Fly, that yours are a lot closer and more personal than mine - and I am sorry to hear that.

Jon Faine on 774 a while ago, had some extraordinary reports on addiction (particularly ice) and it canvassed the parents and support networks.  There is some incredible work going on, but it is so tough.

[flyboy77]

All good Dodge....

I didn't need to go on as I did, so my apologies.

I'm seeing it first hand as we speak... sadly. And not for the first time... groan (loudly).

[dodge]

Sorry to hear that Fly - tough position to be in. Hope they come good. It can and does happen.